Published: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 at 7:12 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 at 7:12 p.m.

In reality, the circumstances were better. Instead of Harrison, the part-owner owner and manager of the Las Vegas pawn shop made famous by the History Channel television show "Pawn Stars," Clements drove with a decal of Harrison on his Chevrolet's hood.

The good thing about having a photo of Harrison versus the pawn guy himself is that it meant money. Harrison, who met Clements a few years ago and became a fan of the Spartanburg driver, kicked in some sponsorship money for the Vegas race.

This is how Clements and his Spartanburg-based family team move through the 33-race Nationwide Series schedule. The purse money each weekend supplies much of the funding needed to make the season work, and the team picks up sponsorship here and there to enhance the bottom line.

Clements, now in his fourth full season in the Nationwide Series, sits in 17th in series points after the first three races of the year. Because of financial constraints, he is a mid-pack racer who is able to occasionally take a shot at a top 10.

It's all about the money — or the relative lack of money.

"Right now we're in the same boat as last year," Clements said. "We're trying to run all these races and survive. We can't put all our eggs in one basket for one race because we'd be broke, and we couldn't go to the next one. We need permanent sponsorship to make things better. It's the same old deal. Money makes speed."

Clements, 29, sees what's happening at the top levels of NASCAR and doesn't like it. Drivers without significant portfolios get rides because they're able to bring money to the table and fuel race teams.

"All these guys you see showing up, they're bringing a sponsor, or their dad or granddad or somebody has money," he said. "It's all about that. I hate it's that way. It's not like football or basketball where if you're good you get to the top. Even if you're good at this, you've got to have that money behind you."

Clements figures he'd have a good ride if he had a backer with a few million to spend. In the meantime, Clements Racing rolls on, trying to fight the good fight against more-monied teams in an atmosphere that is increasingly technical and complex.

Clements races with older cars and older engines.

"And these cars are changing all the time," he said. "Teams are always figuring stuff out. If you stand still, you get left behind."

Chevrolet SB2 engines supply the power for Clements' cars. Top teams use the newer RO7 engines.

"We could rent one of the new engines for $30,000 or build one for $50,000," he said. "We just don't have the funding to do that."

Clements also has to race with a certain amount of care. A wrecked race car is a major liability for small teams.

"I drive hard, but I don't put myself in stupid situations," he said.

With fewer cars than leading teams, the Clements group has to be selectively aggressive.

"We've got one car that we really like, but we can't race it every week because if we crash it, we're hurting," said Ricky Pearson, the team's crew chief. "We can't race with Kyle Busch and all the Cup people. We have to race around the ones who are in the same boat we are.

"If we have a good day and can race 15th or 16th, that's like a win for us. Last year we ended up with a couple of top 10s. But we do more with less than anybody here."

Clements finished 29th in the season opener at Daytona, 21st at Phoenix in Race 2 and 32nd Saturday at Las Vegas.

His best career finish is a ninth last year at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.

<p>LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Jeremy Clements raced Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with Rick Harrison riding on his hood.</p><p>Well, sort of.</p><p>In reality, the circumstances were better. Instead of Harrison, the part-owner owner and manager of the Las Vegas pawn shop made famous by the History Channel television show "Pawn Stars," Clements drove with a decal of Harrison on his Chevrolet's hood.</p><p>The good thing about having a photo of Harrison versus the pawn guy himself is that it meant money. Harrison, who met Clements a few years ago and became a fan of the Spartanburg driver, kicked in some sponsorship money for the Vegas race.</p><p>This is how Clements and his Spartanburg-based family team move through the 33-race Nationwide Series schedule. The purse money each weekend supplies much of the funding needed to make the season work, and the team picks up sponsorship here and there to enhance the bottom line.</p><p>Clements, now in his fourth full season in the Nationwide Series, sits in 17th in series points after the first three races of the year. Because of financial constraints, he is a mid-pack racer who is able to occasionally take a shot at a top 10.</p><p>It's all about the money — or the relative lack of money.</p><p>"Right now we're in the same boat as last year," Clements said. "We're trying to run all these races and survive. We can't put all our eggs in one basket for one race because we'd be broke, and we couldn't go to the next one. We need permanent sponsorship to make things better. It's the same old deal. Money makes speed."</p><p>Clements, 29, sees what's happening at the top levels of NASCAR and doesn't like it. Drivers without significant portfolios get rides because they're able to bring money to the table and fuel race teams.</p><p>"All these guys you see showing up, they're bringing a sponsor, or their dad or granddad or somebody has money," he said. "It's all about that. I hate it's that way. It's not like football or basketball where if you're good you get to the top. Even if you're good at this, you've got to have that money behind you."</p><p>Clements figures he'd have a good ride if he had a backer with a few million to spend. In the meantime, Clements Racing rolls on, trying to fight the good fight against more-monied teams in an atmosphere that is increasingly technical and complex.</p><p>Clements races with older cars and older engines.</p><p>"And these cars are changing all the time," he said. "Teams are always figuring stuff out. If you stand still, you get left behind."</p><p>Chevrolet SB2 engines supply the power for Clements' cars. Top teams use the newer RO7 engines.</p><p>"We could rent one of the new engines for $30,000 or build one for $50,000," he said. "We just don't have the funding to do that."</p><p>Clements also has to race with a certain amount of care. A wrecked race car is a major liability for small teams.</p><p>"I drive hard, but I don't put myself in stupid situations," he said.</p><p>With fewer cars than leading teams, the Clements group has to be selectively aggressive.</p><p>"We've got one car that we really like, but we can't race it every week because if we crash it, we're hurting," said Ricky Pearson, the team's crew chief. "We can't race with Kyle Busch and all the Cup people. We have to race around the ones who are in the same boat we are.</p><p>"If we have a good day and can race 15th or 16th, that's like a win for us. Last year we ended up with a couple of top 10s. But we do more with less than anybody here."</p><p>Clements finished 29th in the season opener at Daytona, 21st at Phoenix in Race 2 and 32nd Saturday at Las Vegas.</p><p>His best career finish is a ninth last year at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.</p>